In Situ Constructed Spinel Layer Stabilized Upcycled LiCoO2 for High Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries.

With ever-increasing requirements for cathodes in the lithium-ion batteries market, an efficiency and eco-friendly upcycling regeneration strategy is imperative to meet the demand for high-performance cathode materials. Herein, a facile, direct and upcycling regeneration strategy is proposed to restore the failed LiCoO2 and enhance the stability at 4.6 V. Double effects combination of relithiation and outside surface reconstruction are simultaneously achieved via a facile solid-phase sintering method. The evolution process of the Li-supplement and grain-recrystallization is systematically investigated, and the high performance of the upcycled materials at high voltage is comprehensively demonstrated. Thanks to the favorable spinel LiCoxMn2-xO4 surface coating, the upcycled sample displays outstanding electrochemical performance, superior to the pristine cathode materials. Notably, the 1% surface-coated LiCoO2 achieves a high discharge-specific capacity of 207.9 mA h g-1 at 0.1 C and delivers excellent cyclability with 77.0% capacity retention after 300 cycles. Significantly, this in situ created spinel coating layer can be potentially utilized for recycling spent LiCoO2, thus providing a viable, promising recycling strategy insights into the upcycling of degraded cathodes.

Acid-free mechanochemical process to enhance the selective recycling of spent LiFePO4 batteries.

With the large-scale application of LiFePO4 (LFP) in energy storage and electric vehicles, the recycling of spent lithium LFP batteries has gained more attention. However, recycling spent LFP is less economically feasible owing to the poor economic value of Fe products, which causes a problem for both the efficiency and economy. This work proposes a highly economical acid-free mechanochemical approach for the efficient and selective extraction of lithium (Li) from spent LFP battery cathode materials. The selective release of 98.9 % of Li from the LFP crystal structure is achieved at a reaction time of 5 h, a rotational speed of 500 rpm, and sodium citrate (Na3Cit) to LFP mass ratio of 10. Meanwhile, Fe is reserved in the form of FePO4 in the olivine structure. The use of Na3Cit as a co-milling agent ensures a pollution-free recovery process and efficient extraction of Li+. The chelation of Li+ with organic ligands (Cit3-) is the key to the efficient selective recovery of Li+ from the olivine LFP structure via the mechanochemical process. The economic analysis indicates that the method is feasible and ensures industrial viability. The acid-free mechanochemical (MC) process reported in this work provides a novel route to selectively recover Li from spent LFP efficiently and highly economically.

Effect of superfine grinding on physicochemical and antioxidant properties of soybean residue powder.

Soybean residue is an underutilized, nutrient-rich by-product of soybean processing. To enhance its value, we subjected soybean residue to superfine grinding and measured the resulting physiochemical properties and antioxidant activities. We prepared powders with particle sizes of 115.35, 77.93, 39.38, 25.01, and 20.44 µm. As particle size decreased, the surface area (from 96.46 to 198.32 m2/kg) and swelling capacity (from 2.05 to 10.62 ml/g) increased. Conversely, we observed decreases in the surface-number mean (from 23.07 to 11.20 µm), volume-surface mean (from 141.70 to 27.96 µm), angles of repose (from 48.30° to 31.46°), water holding capacity (from 7.86 to 4.39 g/g), and oil binding capacity (from 1.78 to 1.42 g/g). The water solubility index and antioxidant activity (reducing power and free radical scavenging activities of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonic acid)) improved as particle size decreased. In conclusion, superfine grinding improved some properties of soybean residue. Additionally, our findings provide theoretical support for using superfine grinding in industrial food applications.

Diverse fungi associated with partial irregular heartwood of Dalbergia odorifera.

Dalbergia odorifera T. Chen is a medium-sized evergreen tree that produces purple-brown heartwood called JiangXiang in traditional Chinese medicine, the formation process of which takes several decades. In this study, a standard culture method was used to isolate fungi from the wounded and normal stems of D. odorifera aiming to investigate the difference between the two types of wood. To characterize the spatial colonisation of endophytic fungi, an anatomical study was undertaken using the two different types of wood of D. odorifera. A total of 320 wood segments were placed on PDA plates and 87 fungal isolates were obtained. Only two fungi were isolated from the healthy white wood tissue, whereas 85 fungi were found in the purple-brown wounded-wood tissues. The two isolates from 160 white healthy wood tissues were assigned to Bionectriaceae sp., and the rest in wounded wood tissues were analyzed to 12 fungal species, indicating both a high fungal diversity and colonization rate in the purple-brown wounded wood. There was a difference in fungal species composition between coloured and white wood samples collected from the same tree. Eutypa sp. was the most commonly isolated species in the purple-brown wounded wood.

Analysis of endophytic fungi in roots of Santalum album Linn. and its host plant Kuhnia rosmarinifolia Vent.

Santalum album Linn. is an evergreen and hemi-parasitic tree, the heartwood-sandalwood of which was used during a long history in traditional Chinese medicine. Kuhnia rosmarinifolia Vent. is a good host for 1- or 2-year-old growing S. album. The interaction between S. album and K. rosmarinifolia is still little known. Many studies have been carried out on a number of plants for identification and diversity of endophytes. In this study, in total 25 taxa of endophytic fungi were isolated from the roots of S. album and the roots of K. rosmarinifolia. The most frequently isolated genera were Penicillium sp. 1 and Fusarium sp. 1 in the roots of S. album and K. rosmarinifolia, respectively. S. album is a root parasite of K. rosmarinifolia. The interesting result is that they apparently do not share the same endophytic fungi isolates. This study for the first time explored the content of endophytic fungi from S. album and K. rosmarinifolia, which provides important information for further studies.